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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29017263">but mama i'm in love with a criminal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yk_ithadtohappen/pseuds/yk_ithadtohappen'>yk_ithadtohappen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canon Compliant, M/M, Mild Language, POV GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), POV Third Person, Prison, everyone is sad in some way, for now</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29017263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yk_ithadtohappen/pseuds/yk_ithadtohappen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which George finally finds out what happened to Dream, and knows exactly what he has to do.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>my mandatory prison fic</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>82</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>but mama i'm in love with a criminal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George jumped through the grass-covered hole in the ground and landed softly in the water below it before breaking into a sprint to Sapnap’s room. He burst through the doors and paused for a second to catch his breath. “Where’s Dream?” George croaked, panting heavily between words.</p>
<p>Sapnap turned slowly in his chair to see the boy behind him. His eyes were red and watery, and he looked absolutely exhausted. “George,” he began, his voice cracking, “he betrayed us. He dethroned you, he blew up the community house, <i>he kidnapped Beckerson</i>. He cut us off and threw us to the ground. After all that, why the hell do you even care?”</p>
<p>“Sapnap. Where. Is. Dream.”</p>
<p>“Locked in the stupid prison of his,” Sapnap answered, turning back around to face the window. “Serves him right. Building that monstrosity just to end up in there himself.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean he’s in the prison?” George whispered. “He just asked Tommy and Tubbo to talk. How the fuck did he lose against those two idiots? Not only that, they got him into the prison instead?”</p>
<p>“Apparently Tommy paid Punz off and he came to gather everyone for the fight,” Sapnap replied. “Dream didn’t stand a chance against so many of us. It’s a wonder Tommy spared his life at all, to be honest, when Dream was going to kill Tubbo.” Sapnap turned once again to see George was no longer there and the door was closing behind him. He rushed out of his room to see his friend swimming up the exit and called after him to, “stop! Get over here, idiot!”</p>
<p>“I have to see him! You don’t understand, Sapnap,” George yelled back, pausing his ascent and flowing slowly down the waterfall. “Don’t you see how hurt he is? What fucked up thoughts must he be convincing himself of to ruin his own home, his own country, his own friends? I know what he’s done to us. But I also know what he’s doing to himself. And dealing with that all alone is going to drive him insane. I have to see him.”</p>
<p>Sapnap made no move to stop him this time, and as George was leaving he glanced down to see his friend wiping fresh tears from his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George sprinted down the prime path through the SMP, passing various people along the way. They all seemed more at ease now that their enemy was shut away, but George could see the tensions that remained between them. Though everyone liked to pretend Dream was the cause of all their problems, George knew it was only a matter of time before they realized how much of the blame was on themselves.</p>
<p>George continued, picking up a couple flowers along the way, both for Dream and to calm his nerves. He may be sympathetic but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that Dream was more than a little bit unstable, and anything he could do to appease him would be beneficial. Soon, however, he noticed that the flowers became difficult to pull from the ground. His arms felt weak as if each flower weighed tens of pounds and slow in their movement.</p>
<p><i>Mining fatigue,</i> George thought. <i>Not much further now.</i> Sure enough, he turned the corner to the back of Bad and Skeppy’s house and stepped off the path to see the daunting walls of the prison standing before him. He stepped inside the prison and noticed a button near the door which he hurried to press before backing away slightly. All of a sudden, a voice boomed that seemed to come from every direction at once.</p>
<p>“Hello, GeorgeNotFound,” Sam called out. “Are you ready to come through?” George shifted in place, looking around for the origin of his voice.</p>
<p>“Where are you? How did you know it was me? How’d you know there was someone coming in the first place?” George paused to take a deep breath and settle his speeding heartbeat, “But yes, I am ready to come through.” The wall next to the button in front of him retracted with a click, and the purple glow of a portal filled the empty space that was left. </p>
<p>“Walk inside, please,” Sam replied, ignoring the questions that George asked, “and tell me when you’ve reached the other side.” He swallowed and stepped through to be transported into a new room. Thick walls of quartz and blackstone attempted to trick him into believing he was still in the overworld, but heat and humidity seeped in from outside along with stray ashes floating around that revealed his true location in the Nether.</p>
<p>“I’m on the other side. Where do I go next?” George couldn’t see a door or any sort of exit that would lead him to the rest of the jail except for the same portal he had come from. He heard another series of clicks before Sam’s voice sounded around him once more.</p>
<p>“Go back in the portal, now,” he said, and George furrowed his brow in confusion. He stepped inside, expecting to see the doors that led out of the prison, but he was surprised as his vision cleared and Sam came into view, standing behind a desk.</p>
<p>“Woah,” he gasped, looking around. The portal swirling behind him was much bigger than either of the two he passed through already. Quartz pillars supported the roof, and he could see locker doors either side of the desk.</p>
<p>“Welcome to the prison. I’ll need you to read this waiver out loud and sign it once you’re done.” George looked down at the lectern and quickly recited the words before writing his name at the end, barely registering what they meant. He could be signing his life away for all he knew. Or cared. Finally, he slid it across the desk towards Sam, who collected it and filed it away in a drawer.</p>
<p>“Before you put away your things, I have a couple questions that I need to ask you,” he said, looking back up. His dark eyes stared into George’s as if they could see every lie he could possibly tell, and George didn’t want to find out if his suspicion was right. “When, if ever, did you last visit the prison?”</p>
<p>“This is my first time here. Shouldn’t you have that in your log?”</p>
<p>Ignored once again. “What is your current place of residence?”</p>
<p>“Sam, we live in the same house,” George deadpanned. “I saw you leave for work this morning.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, I’m required to ask every question on the list,” Sam said with a small smile that faded when he got to the next question. “Do you think the prisoner deserved to be locked up?”</p>
<p><i>Of course not!</i> George thought angrily. Dream committed crimes, and he needed to face consequences but this? No one deserved this. George knew that verbalizing any of these thoughts would not end well for him, so he simply nodded, hoping Sam would move on to the next question. His prayers were answered.</p>
<p>“What are your, uhh,” Sam paused in the middle of his sentence with a cough, “ahem, prior relationships with the prisoner?”</p>
<p>George felt his face burn bright red. “He’s my… we’re…” George began, before stopping to think of the appropriate word to use to describe what Dream meant to him. He settled on “it’s complicated,” sighing at how cliche it sounded. “It’s complicated, but I care about his well being, and I won’t do anything to hurt him.”</p>
<p>“I’m not worried about that with you,” Sam replied. “More of the opposite really. Are you willing to submit to any and all physical exams to ensure you present no risk to the prison, the workers, and the people locked inside?” George nodded once again. “Do you agree to not bring any items into the prison with you?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” George asked. He was not aware that this was a rule. “I brought some flowers with me. Am I not allowed to take those inside?”</p>
<p>“Everything you have must be left inside a chest in one of the lockers,” Sam said. “I’m really sorry. If I could let you take them to him, I would. Last question now. Do you swear to listen to every direction I give you while on prison grounds, no matter the risk? This is for everyone’s safety, including your own. I’ll need a verbal answer on this one.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I do,” George said. Their interview finally concluded, and Sam pulled a lever to his right. A door opened to reveal a large locker, and he gestured towards it.</p>
<p>“Put all your items into the chest at the end of the hall and press the button on the side to get your key,” Sam said. “Make sure to remove your armor as well. Put the key in your ender chest, so we can get it once you’re out.”</p>
<p>George walked to the end of the locker and emptied his pockets into the chest, before pressing the button. As soon as the key was spat out from behind it, the wall shifted to lock the chest in place, preventing it from being opened. He placed it into his ender chest and walked out to the front desk where Sam was waiting for him. He pushed the lever back up and pulled another to reveal a hallway to the right of the portal he entered the room from.</p>
<p>Sam led George inside the twists and turns of the prison, pausing occasionally to check him for items or sleep for safety. The precautions felt excessive with the sheer number of tests he was put through and obstacles that would be impossible to pass if Sam didn’t press the right buttons, pull the right levers, input the right passcodes, but George memorized every step along the way in case someone was suddenly willing to lead a prison break. Right, left, right, left, up, down, around. Into water and fire, across bridges and gates. George even had to sign two more waivers in between, as if Sam had somehow read his thoughts on ways to free Dream from his confinement.</p>
<p>Finally, they reached a closed off area with a large lava wall on the opposite side. Sam walked to the center of a stone brick platform, and said, “stand right here,” before backing up towards the series of levers on the side. George walked over to stand where Sam indicated and awaited further instructions. “If Dream tries to attack you while you are inside, you will be transported directly to this room with me. I’m going to open the main cell now, just wait a few minutes for the lava to retract.”</p>
<p>“Am I going in there alone?” George asked. “It would be a bit awkward if you can hear everything we’re saying.”</p>
<p>“This is as far as I’m going,” said Sam. “I will advise you against saying anything you wouldn’t want me to hear, though. The waivers that you signed will not be taken lightly, should anything happen to him.” A dull thud sounded from beyond the barricade of flames, and George turned to see the lava flowing down to reveal a small floating room carved out of the obsidian structure around it. Inside, a boy looked up, eyes sunken, skin pale, clothes burnt.</p>
<p>“Dream,” George whispered under his breath before clearing his throat and yelling, “Dream!” Dream gave him a shaky smile and closed the book he was writing in to stand at the edge of the platform.</p>
<p>“Now, I’m going to move the bridge that you are standing on,” Sam said, reaching over to the next lever. “You will need to walk with it to make sure you don’t fall off. Once you’re on the other side I’ll bring it back, and you can talk to the prisoner.”</p>
<p>With that, he pulled the lever down, and his ears filled with an awful clanging noise as the floor beneath him moved across the lake of lava. George looked up from the pit to watch Dream bounce around excitedly as he got closer and closer. About halfway across, a barrier came up in front of Dream, and he jumped away just in time to avoid being hit. As he neared the other side, George looked at the barrier more carefully to see it was made entirely of netherite, and he scoffed at how extra it was.</p>
<p>The second George stepped off the bridge onto the obsidian on the other side, the bridge retracted, and lava began to stream down from the ceiling. Once they were completely enclosed, the netherite dropped down, and George raised his arms for a hug before deciding against it and settling on an awkward pat on the back instead.</p>
<p>“You came,” Dream said, his voice hoarse from disuse. “I didn’t think you would.” Any remaining anger George had faded away at that, and he could hardly resist the urge to hold him any longer. “Can I hug you? Please?” he asked, raising his arms as George had done, and Dream was barely done with his question before he fell into them. They stood together for a long moment, and George felt hot tears forming in his eyes which he quickly blinked away. He had a job to do here.</p>
<p>“I have to get you out of here,” he breathed into Dream’s ear, careful not to move his lips in case of cameras. Dream pulled away quickly, panic flashing in his eyes for a second, and walked towards a chest full of books, grabbing a quill on his way.</p>
<p>“How is Sapnap doing?” Dream asked as he wrote in the book and turned it to show George what was on it. <i>He can hear what we say.</i></p>
<p>“Awful,” George replied as he slowly took another book and quill from Dream’s hands. “He tries to pretend he’s happy about it. I think they all do. But he was crying so hard today.” <i>Technoblade owes you, he has Ranboo and Phil, and I know I can convince Sapnap and Punz if we have to. We can get you out.</i></p>
<p>“I’m really sorry, George. You know that right? I thought distancing myself would protect you guys. I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me. Everything that I did, every decision I made was for you all to be happy again, like it was before the wars and the chaos.” <i>I commissioned Sam to make this hellhole. It’s impenetrable. No chance I’m letting you risk your life. I deserve what I have.</i></p>
<p>“Don’t you dare do it again. We’re the Dream Team, yeah? If they hurt us, we can deal with it together. Don’t be the one to hurt us first.” <i>I’m going to Techno whether you agree with me or not. Either you tell me what you know, or you let us face more danger than we already have to.</i></p>
<p>Dream gave him an exasperated look before frantically moving the quill around the paper. George leaned over his shoulder to see Dream drawing a diagram of each level of the prison as he rambled on about how he passed time while locked up. He described Tommy’s visit in detail, along with the clock he often played with and all the novels he wrote in between. By the time he was done, his voice was tired, and George held the book in his hands, memorizing it as quickly as he possibly could. When he was finished, he handed it back and put both hands on Dream’s shoulders, so they were facing each other.</p>
<p>Slowly, he lifted his hands to Dream’s face and brushed his cheek. Dream shivered and leaned down closer to George, but he put his hand on Dream’s chest to stop him. Dream pulled away immediately, confusion and sadness flickering in his eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m still mad at you,” George explained. “You never told me what you were planning to do. I didn’t even know you were here until this morning. My feelings for you are still the same, but I’m not ready for this yet. Please give me time.”</p>
<p>“You have all the time in the world,” Dream sighed, moving his head back down to rest on George’s shoulder this time. “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”</p>
<p>“Your time is up,” Sam’s voice came from a hole in the ceiling. “Say your last goodbyes and step into the water.” George pulled Dream in for one more hug and held him tight. Once he let go, he didn’t look back for fear of letting the tears in his eyes spill over. Sam splashed a potion down into the water hole, and George was teleported into the room from before, on the other side of the lava. “Follow me outside. Don’t wander around.”</p>
<p>George left the prison in a daze with only one thing on his mind. <i>Get to Technoblade and free Dream.</i> He barely took note of the way out since a map of the prison was already engraved in his mind. He collected his belongings from the locker and moved to leave through the portal, nodding a goodbye to Sam, but he stopped when he saw the hard look in Sam’s eye.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong,” he asked. He was on dangerous territory now, but he had to avoid any suspicion.</p>
<p>“Make sure you don’t forget what you agreed to,” Sam responds with a raised eyebrow. “If something goes wrong I know there are only two people that have visited here, and one of them clearly isn’t a suspect. That’s all. You can leave now.”</p>
<p>It made George nervous, how obvious his plans were, and Sam letting him out alive led him to believe there was more to the prison than Dream originally thought, but nevertheless, he was willing to try anything to help him out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>George entered the house quietly and packed a bag for his journey across the Nether to the Arctic Anarchist Commune. He took a quick look into Sapnap’s room to see him sprawled out on his bed, asleep and worn out from all his crying. With that, he ran to the portal, only stopping once to pray at Church Prime. Sure, it was only a silly joke between friends, but he needed all the luck he could get.</p>
<p>As he travelled through the burning Nether, he thought of what he would say to convince Technoblade once he arrived. As he travelled through the snowy arctic, worry began to creep in, of failure, of imprisonment, of death, both at the hands of Techno and the prison’s traps. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and the snow that had settled on him. The main building of the Commune was visible beyond one final mountain in front of him.</p>
<p>By the time he reached the front door, he realized, a little too late, that he didn’t have nearly enough armor or weapons to protect himself if the interaction became violent, but he remembered that Techno would be able to destroy him in an instant, no matter what he had to protect himself, which was oddly reassuring.</p>
<p>He lifted his hand to hit the pig shaped knocker against the door, but before he could, he felt the pierce of a sword against the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“You have 30 seconds to tell me why you’re here before I kill you,” Technoblade said with as much ice in his voice as the biome around them. George would have laughed at how predictable the situation was if he weren’t so focused on providing an adequate explanation for his visit.</p>
<p>“We need your help,” George begged. “Let me go and I’ll tell you everything, I promise.” A beat passed, and George felt the pressure of the sword release from his neck, blood trickling down where it pressed into his skin. He turned around with his arms raised and saw fury in Techno’s eyes, but the glimmer of curiosity behind it gave him hope. Techno leaned against the balcony and motioned with his hand for George to elaborate.</p>
<p>“I’m going to help Dream break out of the prison,” George said, barely daring to breathe in Technoblade’s presence. “I came to you first, but I’ll tell Sapnap and Punz while you tell Philza and Ranboo. Even Karl and Quackity can be good distractions if we become that desperate.”</p>
<p>“Are you out of your mind?” Techno shouted, straightening up from the almost relaxed position he was in before. “He got what he had coming for him. What the hell makes you think I’d risk our lives for that piece of shit? The prison is damn near impossible to get into, even for me.”</p>
<p>“Dream taught me the layout, and I can draw the entire plan from memory. Go visit him yourself if that’s what it takes. You hate that you owe him, and you hate that people- not people, <i>government</i> have the power to lock him up. Destroying the prison is killing two birds with one stone, is it not?” George held his breath in anticipation. His entire plan relied on Techno’s response, and George hoped his final statement would break through to him because it was all he had left to offer.</p>
<p>With a resigned sigh, Technoblade looked off into the distance to see the sky lighten as the sun peaked out over the horizon.</p>
<p>“Tell me what you know.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>leave a comment if you have any suggestions! i'm always looking to improve my writing :)</p>
<p>be my friend :P @ ykithadtohappen on twitter</p></blockquote></div></div>
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